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Dwayne - so you have an exciting sail in a nice 20 knt wind with the odd spume blowing up - real adventurous - the essence of sailing - then you get to the anchorage where you're going to spend the night. Do you have to spend the night down below? Or do you just sit and sip your wine in the wind? Oh, and I only motor when the weather is "perfect" i.e. no wind.

I usually go below and change into something comfortable while the wife puts up the rain fly if it's raining and then we go back up and sip our wine and cheese in the cockpit. Since we are at anchor the wind is coming straight across the bow and we are shielded by the dodger.

OK, enough said, I've stated my opinion and objections to being enclosed. By the way one of my best and oldest friends has a full enclosure on his boat and never takes down the sides. Each to his own.

Captkermie - Your avatar suggests you're a big fella but my enclosure in 2.5 metres wide and 3 metres long. It's bigger than most salons. I have plenty of place to do what has to be done.Yes, it's me in the Avatar.No, maybe I'm just past being the hero. I want to sail warm and dry. Being cold and wet adds nothing to my experience. If I wanted that I'd stand under a cold shower in my back yard and save a fortune.

Amen to that! Now you know why I am a fair weather sailor.

But I do believe what Faster said:Quote:
I understand the sentiment and don't entirely disagree, but if the choice is cold and wet in a back yard or cold and wet in some dramatic rainforest fiord after a brisk sail, knowing the cabin heater is going and the hot rums are poured..... there is some magic to that.. Unquote

I have experienced that magic in another life and know what it is, but I was younger then and so much older now.

I guess it all boils down, to me, to whether you are going to sail your boat and have one really capable of sailing or are you going to motor most of the time because the weather just isn't perfect and you don't want to get that new do wet? Again, sailing is an outdoor activity. I want to be outdoors when I do it and being enclosed just would take most of the enjoyment out of it. And yes, I've sailed in most all kinds of weather and yes, some of it just wasn't fun, at the time, but in looking back I wouldn't trade it for anything!

If on the other hand you own a boat that has sails but looks and acts more like a power boat, then go ahead and enclose yourself and go the rest of the way.

Awe, did we hurt your feelings? We can't all be real sailors like you.

09-17-2009 12:04 PM

rikhall

Great comments all - and yes - there are at least six sides to that page.

Our Tanzer 28 had no weather help, so, we had a dodger made. Two years later we had a bimini made and were asked if we needed the zippers in case we wanted an enclosure later. We said yes (one of our good decisions).

Two years later, I bought some fabric, some more zippers, some window material and sewed an enclosure. I used my old White Jean's Machine that we inherited from my mom.

It looked like this and each of the six panels were independent and came out separately

.

On more than one occasion, with guests aboard, Linda and I slept in the cockpit to give our guests the v-berth. It was lovely. It was not for sailing - could not sail with it up at all (well - jib only), it was for at anchor or at dock for extra room.

We now have an Irwin Citation 34 and the Commodore is making small noises about, maybe, wouldn't it be nice to have a "guest room".

And yes - we can sail the IC34 with Dodger and bimini up, and on our 1002 nautical mile, May / June delivery from Annapolis MD to Fredericton, NB we did so on more than one cold, pouring rain occasion.

I can't imagine trying to actually sail, using all the lines and rigging with a full enclosure blocking my ability to maneuver my body and limbs.

Well..... you certainly have a larger body and limbs than I and my previous C320 had a much larger cockpit, but I could do all of the above quite well all buttoned up because I had zippered slits for ALL controls led back to me at the helm. As a matter of fact I remember one early spring day fully enclosed with my wife inside the cabin enjoying the warmth of the Dickensen Propane heater while I was outside alone in a sweatshirt only beating down the bay gaining ground on 34ish fully crewed with people that looked like the "Michelin Man" in the cold.

Yup... you could say that the enclosure is Butt Ugly but another time we just made it down to Stonington CT a few minutes before the deluge started and while I was dry and warm sipping a cold one at the dock with a great view the dock workers and most everybody else were running around like nuts trying to get out of the rain..... what rain
My boat came with the dodger so it was $5,000 for the full enclosure with the best Strataglass windows etc... Storing the window side enclosures IS a major pain and even the good stuff has to be handled with care, buffered with cloth, and not just crammed into a corner. My only regret is that I went for the enclosesure only a year before I traded it in for my Nauticat so I didn't get my $$ worth..... but do you ever...

......No, maybe I'm just past being the hero. I want to sail warm and dry. Being cold and wet adds nothing to my experience. If I wanted that I'd stand under a cold shower in my back yard and save a fortune.

I understand the sentiment and don't entirely disagree, but if the choice is cold and wet in a back yard or cold and wet in some dramatic rainforest fiord after a brisk sail, knowing the cabin heater is going and the hot rums are poured..... there is some magic to that..

09-17-2009 02:39 AM

JiffyLube

A long time ago I sailed from Hawaii to California in an open cockpit 28' tri with two other guys, on a passage that took us 25 days during the month of May. None of us were really prepared clothes wise, so for many days we cooked in the day and froze from wind and water at night during watches. I've had my share of sun, water, and wind exposure and over the years, so I probably wouldn't sail on a boat without a bimini and dodger again. When we got our boat one of the first items we had installed was a quality dodger and a frame-less bimini, and its a pleasure to sail with protection from the elements. I proved to myself once that I could take the beating when I was a young man, but now that I'm older and wiser I have no desire to repeat that insanity again.

09-17-2009 01:28 AM

jrd22

Omatako said- "No, maybe I'm just past being the hero. I want to sail warm and dry. Being cold and wet adds nothing to my experience. If I wanted that I'd stand under a cold shower in my back yard and save a fortune. "

Couldn't have said it better myself, I agree completely.

09-17-2009 01:10 AM

Omatako

Lots of interesting comment here and I guess at the end of it all it depends on the kibd of use you expect to get from your boat.

Faster - how does your dodger work for you in the rain on a downwind course?

Captkermie - Your avatar suggests you're a big fella but my enclosure in 2.5 metres wide and 3 metres long. It's bigger than most salons. I have plenty of place to do what has to be done.

Dwayne - so you have an exciting sail in a nice 20 knt wind with the odd spume blowing up - real adventurous - the essence of sailing - then you get to the anchorage where you're going to spend the night. Do you have to spend the night down below? Or do you just sit and sip your wine in the wind? Oh, and I only motor when the weather is "perfect" i.e. no wind.

The other thing that is evident in a few of the posts is that the debate is not really about long distance sailing. It's OK to sail in 20 knots with the odd salt wash coming aboard into your face. And your $1m weather gear offers good protection. For the first hour, Or day? Or the next three days. But what about for the first week?

No, maybe I'm just past being the hero. I want to sail warm and dry. Being cold and wet adds nothing to my experience. If I wanted that I'd stand under a cold shower in my back yard and save a fortune.

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